Previous Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, declared the halt of his presidential campaign due to financial obstacles and decreasing support in polls. During his speech at the annual conference of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas, Pence expressed, “After careful consideration and prayer, I have chosen to suspend my campaign for president, effective immediately.” He assured the audience, “While I’m stepping away from this campaign, I assure you, I will persist in the battle for conservative principles and will continue my efforts to endorse principled Republican leaders at every level of government. So help me God.”
The decision to suspend the presidential campaign was tightly kept among advisors, with many organizers of the event unaware of the announcement that was to be made during the conference. Pence, who had previously served as the Governor of Indiana and a US congressman before his vice-presidential tenure, had launched his presidential bid in Iowa, indicating the significance he placed on the early-voting state rather than his home state.
Pence had committed to visiting all 99 counties in Iowa, emphasizing face-to-face interactions in small-scale settings. He participated in the initial two GOP primary presidential debates, meeting the polling requirements but encountering difficulties in meeting the individual donor threshold established by the Republican National Committee. Further challenges arose in October when Pence filed for the state-run Nevada presidential primary, which imposed a filing fee of USD 55,000, rendering him ineligible for Nevada’s allocation of delegates to the GOP’s 2024 convention. His campaign also faced a reported debt of USD 620,000 in the third fundraising quarter.
Having previously served as the US Vice President under Trump, Pence found himself contending against him for the GOP nomination this time. In 2021, Pence took a distinct stance from Trump by refusing to invalidate electoral votes during Congress’ certification of the 2020 election. In August of this year, he emphasized, “What I want the American people to know is that President Trump was mistaken then and remains mistaken now in suggesting that I had the authority to overturn the election. I had no right to discard or manipulate votes, and I fulfilled my duty under the Constitution of the United States, by God’s grace.”
Catch all the Latest Business News, Breaking News Events, and Latest News Updates on NewsX
